Creole-Spiced Shakshuka

Louisiana seasoning and andouille crank up this classic breakfast or dinner dish

Shakshuka (aka shakshouka or chakchouka) is a spicy tomato stew that features a garnish of cooked eggs.

The dish probably originated in North Africa. Today, versions of it are found throughout the Mediterranean region. The basics of the dish remain the same no matter where it’s found, but the end flavor can vary.

We decided to put our own Creole-spiced spin on shakshuka, giving it a New Orleans vibe. Jazzy, in other words.

Chorizo and Sweet Potato Chili

Spicy and soothing, this is winter comfort food

When the weather turns cold in our part of the world, we like to head south of the border. Culinarily speaking, at least.

Mexican chorizo sausage makes a dynamite chili – especially when you combine its spice with sweet potatoes. Add some tomatoes, beans, and jalapeño pepper for a dish that will warm your heart and make your taste buds smile.

You like to smile, don’t you?

Summer White Bean and Vegetable Stir-Fry

A Mediterranean one-skillet dinner that’s quick, easy, and healthy

We’re enjoying summer’s bounty of vegetables and herbs in our part of the world. But the weather is unremittingly hot, so we don’t want to spend much time cooking.

Fortunately, we have stir-fry. It’s a quick and easy way to showcase almost any vegetable you can think of.

This dish takes only about 20 minutes total for prep and cooking. Stress-free weeknight dinner, anyone?

Boeuf Bourguignon

a/k/a Beef Burgundy, This Classic French Dish Is Perfect for Fall Entertaining

Julia Child introduced the US to Boeuf Bourguignon in the 1960s. Until then, the few Americans who knew about the dish had encountered it in a French restaurant or on travels abroad.

Then we saw Julia cook it on her PBS television show, The French Chef — and we were smitten! It was so exotic and delicious. And once you got past the fancy French name, it was really nothing more than beef stew. Boeuf Bourguignon instantly became the entertaining dish in the 60s — and for a decade or two beyond.

It seems to have fallen out of fashion in recent years, which is too bad. Because you can prepare most of it a day or two ahead, and then finish it when you’re ready to serve — perfect for entertaining.

Steamed Vegetables

The Perfect Way to Cook Your St. Patrick’s Day Cabbage 

This Saturday is St. Patrick’s Day, and many people will be celebrating with Corned Beef and cabbage.

It’s tempting to boil the cabbage in the same pot with the Corned Beef.  After all, you already have a big ‘ol piece of beef simmering in water, so why not plop your cabbage in along with it? 

Well, that works, and might be traditional.  But the salty broth your corned beef cooks in can mute the flavor of the cabbage.  And most people cook cabbage too long, resulting in an odor many find offensive.

A better way to cook cabbage — or just about any veggie — is to steam it separately.  It will taste much better, look more attractive, and retain more nutrients. 

And steaming is almost as easy as boiling.

Tuna Pasta Salad

Simple Summer Comfort Food

It’s been hot, hot, hot throughout much of the United States lately, with no letup from the heat immediately in sight. So most of us don’t want to spend more time than necessary over the stove. And somehow the thought of a big, heavy meal sounds unattractive at best, revolting at worst.

No, in these dog days of summer many of us want to eat lighter, but still crave flavor. A cold dish is ideal.

What better than a nutritious and relatively light pasta salad? Maybe the tuna pasta salad so many of us remember from childhood. A simple dish, but – like mac ‘n cheese – one that still delights us today.

Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

This Easy Classic Takes Your Game to 11

This year, summer has been slow to arrive in many parts of the United States.  We’ve had some cool spring temperatures — prime growing weather for spinach.  Though hotter days are coming in now, there’s still time to fix a few more spinach salads before the season passes by.

If you haven’t paired spinach with hot bacon dressing for a while, now would be a great time.

And if you’ve never tried this combo, prepare to take your taste buds to 11.

Easy & Tasty Braised Cabbage

Saint Patrick’s Day Cabbage Never Tasted Better!

Although green cabbage is ubiquitous in every supermarket, for most of us it’s not on the weekly — or even monthly — grocery list.

It’s one of those foods that we may have only occasionally, and then in the same predictable ways — often in coleslaw. Sometimes in stuffed cabbage or cabbage rolls.

And, of course, many of us eat it (or at least serve it) as an accompaniment to corned beef on Saint Patrick’s Day.

Maybe we neglect cabbage because, fairly or not, it is seen as a staple food of “poor” folk — perhaps including our own cash-strapped immigrant ancestors. Even though many of us seek out “ethnic” food, cabbage doesn’t seem to qualify as the right sort of ethnic.

Then there’s the preparation problem. Too often, cabbage is boiled to a pulp, resulting in a limp, bland-tasting, stinky mess.

Well, it’s time to give cabbage its due. Molly Stevens has developed a recipe for braised cabbage that she calls the “World’s Best Braised Green Cabbage.”

After you taste it, you may conclude that it’s not just the best braised cabbage recipe — it’s the best ever cabbage recipe!

Pasta with Quick Tomato and Bacon Sauce

Combining Two Italian Classics

Two of the more famous tomato-based pasta sauces can be found in pasta all’arrabbiata and pasta all’amatriciana.

Pasta all’arrabbiata — which means “angry” pasta — features a sauce that combines tomato, olive oil, and red pepper flakes (the “angry” part).  Many recipes add garlic.  This sauce traditionally is served over spaghetti, though other pasta shapes often substitute.

Pasta all’amatriciana, which originated in the Italian town of Amatrice, adds guanciale or pancetta and (usually) onions to the mix.  But it leaves out the garlic.  Guanciale is salt-cured pork jowl and pancetta is salt-cured pork belly — it’s like American bacon, except that it’s unsmoked and contains no sugar (which often is added to bacon).  The traditional pasta for all’amatriciana is bucatini.  This shape is similar to spaghetti, but has a small hole running down the center of the pasta strand.

Both of these sauces are excellent and quick cooking, and either one makes a great topping for pasta.  But I like to mix the two recipes together to form a sauce that (to me at least) is even tastier.